Public health nursing

Public health nursing, a term coined by Lillian Wald of the Henry Street Settlement, or community health nursing, is a nursing specialty focused on public health. Public health nurses (PHNs) or community health nurses "integrate community involvement and knowledge about the entire population with personal, clinical understandings of the health and illness experiences of individuals and families within the population."[1] Public health nursing in the United States traces back to a nurse named Lillian Wald who, in 1893, established the Henry Street Settlement in New York City and coined the expression "public health nurse". Public health nurses work within communities and focus on different areas to improve the overall health of the people within that community. Some areas of employment for public health nurses are school districts, county or state health departments, and departments of correction. The public health nurse looks for areas of concern within the community and assesses and plans ways through which the concerns can be resolved or minimized. Some health concerns a public health nurse may work on are infection control, health maintenance, health coaching, as well as home care visits for welfare and to provide care to certain members of the community who may need it.

Credentials

All public health nurses are registered nurses. Some jobs do not require any further training beyond taking public health nursing courses. Others do require the individual to obtain a certification in public health nursing. One option is the National Board of Public Health Examiners' Certification in Public Health (NBPHE). This certification requires a bachelor's degree and five years of public health work experience. Another option was the Advanced Public Health Nursing Certification (PHNA-BC) but it is now only offered for renewal.

See also

  • List of nursing specialties

References

  1. "Public Health Nursing Section". APHA. 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2012-11-30.


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